


the breakfast club

by kippenlakes



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), Character Development, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Friendship, Gay Big Red (HSM: The Series), Multi, Sad Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), The Breakfast Club Au, ampersands are for friendships, big red is brian, big red is smart, ej is andrew, gina is the nutcase but not the same as allison, nini is claire, other roles were made for everyone else, reds real name is chester okay, ricky is a stoner, ricky is john
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kippenlakes/pseuds/kippenlakes
Summary: Eight high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a strict, power-hungry teacher. Each has a chance to tell their own story, making the others see them a little differently. When the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.•••The story of eight teenagers who considered each other strangers and the beginning of the day and ending up bonded for life by the end of it.based on the breakfast club :)
Relationships: Big Red & Everyone, Big Red & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Big Red & Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), E.J. Caswell & Gina Porter, Everyone & Everyone, Nini Salazar-Roberts & Everyone, Past Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell, Ricky Bowen & Everyone, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts, Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez, i got tired w tagging ships
Comments: 11
Kudos: 118





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> personalities probably won’t be canon-compliant for the most part bc it’s breakfast club yanno && some relationships will have happened in the past, but they grew apart as time passed. i used a lot of the writing and dialogue straight from the script bc i can’t wrote oop. 
> 
> you don't have to have watched the breakfast club but it's a gr9 movie and may help a lil bit
> 
> thank you john hughes!
> 
> seb, carlos, kourt, and ashlyn don't have very main roles bc it's hard incorporating more characters but they're babie

_“... and these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…” - David Bowie_

Saturday. March 24, 1984. East High, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

_Dear Mr. Mazzara,_

_We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong, what we did was wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write this essay telling us who we think we are, what do you care? You see us as you want to see us… in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us a brain, an athlete, a princess, a basket case, a sidekick, a dreamer, an outcast, a farmhand, and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at seven o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed…_

Nini Salazar-Roberts scrolled endlessly through her phone in the backseat of her moms’ car, wishing for the day to pass by quickly. Carol and Dana looked towards their daughter in the back, noticing her sour expression. 

“I just can’t believe you guys can’t get me out of this, it’s so absurd being at school on a Saturday. It’s not like I’m a defective or anything,” Nini trailed off, gazing out the window at her prison for the next couple hours.

Carol sighed, “Sweetie, ditching class to go shopping doesn’t make you a defective.”

“But it does mean you did something wrong and now you need to learn from it,” Dana continued.

Carol was always the more permissive of the two parents. Coming from money, it didn’t matter. Whatever was broken could be fixed with money, a lesson that passed on to her daughter. Dana, however, built her way up, wanting her daughter to do the same. Unfortunately, Carol’s constant carelessness of Nini’s actions became so constant it was unusual for Nini to experience proper punishment.

“Yeah, I know. You said that _somewhere_ in the long speech you gave me last night,” Nini scoffed.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette girl stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut. She straightened her skirt and fixed her hair in the car window before glancing at her moms one last time.

“We’ll make it up to you,” Carol gave Nini a curt wave back before spinning on her heels towards the school. Dana gave Carol a ‘look’ before they drove off. Despite the fact that Nini wasn’t looking at them, she knew they were going to fight when they got home.

“This is torture,” Nini sang to herself quietly and with a sigh, she opened the school doors and headed to the library. Before the doors slam shut, she heard the screeching of car tires outside, paying no attention to her already ruined day. 

_God, someone get me out of here._

Ricky Bowen carelessly walked across the street, the car coming towards him, slamming on the brakes. Ricky let a small smirk appear on his face, ignoring the frustrated expression on some random parent’s face.

“Fucking watch it!” Ricky yelled, banging on the hood of the car, laughing to himself. 

The curly-haired boy placed his sunglasses properly on the bridge of his nose, adjusting his fingerless gloves; the knowing smirk reappearing on his face. Turning his head back momentarily, Ricky saw the school’s very own basketcase exit the car.

_Oh, this is going to be a fun crowd._

Gina Porter, dressed in all black, hopped out of the car from the back. When she took a step to peer through the front window, the car began to speed off. Whoever brought her to detention, drove off without a care in the world. Gina was left standing in the middle of the street for a moment. She breathed out a soft ‘bye’ before walking through the school’s doors. Very faintly, she could hear a high-pitched woman’s voice reprimanding their child. 

_At least they care._

“Is this the first or last time we do this?” Big Red heard his mom ask.

“Last.”

“Well get in there and use the time to your advantage-”

“Mom, we’re not supposed to study; we just have to sit there and do nothing,” Red defended.

“Well mister, you figure out a way to study,” she commanded, only to be met with silence. “Well go!”

With one last look at his mom, Big Red got out of the car, putting on his backpack. He wished he could just hide in his oversized sweater and disappear. From the corner of his eye, he saw East High’s star athlete, EJ Caswell in the front seat of his dad’s truck. To say the least, Red was surprised.

_The hell is he doing here?_

“Hey, I screwed around… guys screw around, there’s nothing wrong with that. Except you got caught, sport,” EJ’s father said. It was just like him to make matters seem like less of a deal than they were. It was his way of playing nice, but EJ knew the moment he did something wrong, he’d be dead.

“Yeah, Mom already reemed me, alright?” EJ sighed.

And that was the first mistake EJ made. One the careless response left his mouth, he could practically see his father’s anger seeth out of him immediately.

“You wanna miss a match? You wanna blow your ride? No school’s going to give a scholarship to a discipline case. Get out.”

EJ scoffed and got out, slamming the door shut. He wished this had been the first time this had happened, but EJ had become accustomed to his dad reeling on him because he didn’t fit the version of perfection his family had in mind for him.

_Fuck this._

His cousin, Ashlyn, quietly got out the car after. She should’ve known better than to hang out with EJ’s friends after the water polo match. The fact that she was asked should’ve been a clue from the start.

“Honey,” Mr. Caswell called out to her.

Ashlyn whirled around, her eyes widened in fear. She hated being around EJ’s dad when he was like this.

“Learn from this. I know you’re better than him,” he told her as he stared straight out the front window. She nodded quickly and went off without a goodbye.

When EJ and Ashlyn were younger, they were extremely close, almost inseparable. Walking into high school, the younger of the two had hoped that would stay the same. Unfortunately, as time passed, it was like they became as close as strangers, from knowing everything about each other to knowing almost nothing. Most people didn’t even know they were cousins. Sometimes relationships just aren’t meant to last forever.

Ashlyn pushed the double doors to the school, regretting her past decision. At least she could daydream for most of the day.

_This is stupid._

Closely following EJ’s entrance, Carlos Rodriguez and Sebastion Matthew-Smith walked into the school together. When the two boys got together, most the school had been accepting-- although that was more due to not caring-- but others, however, would push them into lockers or call them slurs. Plus, Miss Jenn scared a lot of students. She may be bubbly at first glance, but no one wanted to get on her bad side. Most students just didn’t want to be associated with them, for _obvious_ reasons. The two boys weren’t popular, but they had the ‘support’ of the school at the end of the day. One detention was nothing.

_It’s just one day._

It seemed like people just kept pouring into the once-in-a-lifetime event that was Saturday detention, but the day’s last arrival quickly came. Kourtney Moore walked to school from home, as no one was home to take her. Sighing deeply, she walked into school, wondering if she would get through the day without anyone noticing her. She was used to blending in with the crowd.

_Here we go._

And so, by seven o’clock in the morning, eight strangers had been forced to gather together and suffer in each other’s company.

•••

Nini sat at the frontmost table, noticing a redhead quickly enter and sit behind her. She paid no attention to him.

When EJ Caswell came up to her, gesturing to ask if the seat next to her was available, she shrugged. Nini wouldn’t deny that the school’s star athlete was a nice sight to stare and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t harbor a little crush on him; but who didn’t? He flashed a smile at her, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. What? He was cute.

Ashlyn walked past her cousin, putting her head down as if that would somehow help her escape this situation. Nini stared at her as she sat down, quickly looking away when Ashlyn’s eyes found hers. _What does she want?_

The four students briefly noticed a boy with glasses and a blonde boy walk into the library before they scurried off to a table in the back. They all knew who the two of them were but something held them back from saying now, or ever, actually.

The silence and tension were interrupted by Ricky’s absurd entrance. He glanced at the people he’d be spending his morning with, scoffing before he touched everything on the librarian’s desk. He slickly took a couple of items from their desk, shoving them into his pockets. A certain girl, who Ricky had to admit was pretty, stared at him as he did this and when the two made eye contact, Ricky gave her a wink, causing her to look down at her table.

Big Red looked up when he saw a shadow tower over him, one that belonged to none other than Ricky Bowen. Reluctantly, he moved to the opposite table, his seat already taken by the East High’s rebel child. Ricky maintained eye contact with Red the entire time he moved another chair to make a footrest.

Gina walked in, Kourtney sauntering in behind her. Kourtney sat in front of Red, giving him a small smile before turning around, not seeing him return the favor.

Everyone looked as Gina walked around the whole library before sitting in the back corner table behind Red. Nini and EJ looked at each other, chuckling softly, thinking _Who was this girl?_

Red looked at her scrunched his eyebrows like he was trying to solve an equation, turning around in confusion.

The eight strangers sat quietly in their seats, waiting for Mr. Mazzara to show up. In waiting for the start of possibly the worst time of their life, they unknowingly created profiles for each other. Or at least Big Red did. He tended to be an observer.

Nini Salazar-Roberts. That was an easy one. Homecoming queen, popular girl, one of her moms owns the staple hangout diner in Salt Lake. Made of money, spoiled. Gotten the lead in almost every school production since she was a freshman; superficial to say the least.

Ricky Bowen. Smoker, stoner, skater. Hated by almost all teachers, makes spitballs in class, suspended for spray painting a side of the school. Lots of untapped potential. As far as he knew, a rebel without a cause.

EJ Caswell. Captain of the water polo team, the reason for East High’s championship win, the school’s very own Troy Bolton. One of the few jocks that wasn’t a complete dick, arrogant, maybe, but not a dick. The picture-perfect boy on paper.

Gina Porter. Confusing, but her own person. Seems like she always has a lot on her mind, spends a lot of time on her own, especially in the dance studio. New kid this year.

Kourtney Moore. Not popular, but not a loser. Killer makeup, killer style. Multi-talented, without a doubt; hums a lot in class. Red wonders what she could do if put under the spotlight.

Carlos Rodriguez. The school’s token gay kid, one of the first who came out. Pushed around by jocks, but his ability to be himself had to be respected. Choreographer, theatre nerd. 

Sebastian Matthew-Smith. His parents held a school fundraiser at their farm one time. Smiled a lot. Pushed back when pushed by jocks, but too nice for his own good sometimes. Also a theatre nerd.

Ashlyn Caswell. The star athlete’s cousin. Captain of the robotics team, seen dressed in renaissance clothing every once in a while for some reason. Drama kid. 

Red knew of everyone around school being involved in the school newspaper. It was one of the non-academic clubs he got to participate in consistently and it was definitely his favorite place to be after school.

Everyone’s heads snapped up when the door to the library swung open and in walked everyone’s favorite teacher, Mr. Mazzara. The tall man was known for his strictness and disdain for the arts. 

_“Science is the future! Not singing!”_

All eight teenagers could be seen groaning inwardly as he walked in, a stack of papers in his hand. Couldn’t Miss Jenn have been put in charge of detention? She probably would’ve just made them hold hands and sing or something. 

_This was going to be a long couple of hours._


	2. the ricky bowen show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hour one of eight. Is it possible for so much to go wrong already?
> 
> The answer is yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dialogue-heavy and it isn't my strong suit but here u go :))
> 
> it's mainly just all of them doing what they do in detention, not much plot.
> 
> and sorry for not uploading in so long, midterms are coming up and my life has gone downhill lmao but we out here and ima try to write more.

“Well, here we are! I must say, congratulations to you for being on time,” Mr. Mazzara addressed the group of teenagers with such disrespect it made them wonder how we ever got the job. 

Nini hesitantly raised her hand, not bothering to be called on before speaking, “Excuse me, sir?” I think there’s been a mistake here. I clearly don’t belong here.” 

Nini glances behind her at Ricky, who blew her a kiss. His signature smirk was met with a disgusted look from the princess herself. _Who does this guy think he is?_ Ricky leaned back in his chair, craning his neck to look around the room at everyone else: legs bouncing, fingers tapping on the table, expressions of absolute misery. Seemed about right.

Mazzara continued talking, blatantly ignoring Nini. “It is now 7:06. You have exactly eight hours and fifty-four minutes to think about why you’re here; to ponder the error of your ways...”

Ricky spit into the air, swiftly catching the spit back into his mouth causing Nini to gag. He put his head in his hands after, drowning out the sound of Mr. Mazzara’s monotonous voice drone on and on, his eyes opening and closing slowly. Red looked to his right at Ricky, more intrigued than anything. _He’s clearly changed._

“... and you may not talk. You will not move from these seats. And,” Mr. Mazzara pointed a finger at Ricky, “ _you_ will not sleep.” Ricky’s chair was pulled out from under his legs by a proud STEM teacher. _God,_ Ricky wanted to punch the man’s grin off his face.

Mr. Mazzara walked back to the front. “Alright people, we’re gonna try something a little different. We are going to write an essay, of no less than a thousand words, describing to me who you think you are.”

“Is this a test?” Ricky asked, partially raising his hand.

No answer.

Paper and pencils were passed out to each student. “And when I say essay, I mean essay. I do not mean a single word repeated a thousand times. Is that clear, Mr. Bowen?”

Ricky looked up with a tight-lipped smile. “Crystal.”

Mr. Mazzara sighed. “Good. Maybe you’ll learn a little something about yourself. Maybe you’ll even decide whether or not you care to return.”

Before Ricky could respond with a snarky comment, he heard someone clear their throat and stand up. The redhead looked familiar to him although he couldn’t place where. 

That was a lie. It may have been years since they’ve talked, but Ricky didn’t forget people easily. _Just act like we’re complete strangers. Easy enough._

“I can answer that right now, sir. That’d be a no for me-”

“Sit down, Redonavich.”

“Right, thank you,” Red nodded to himself, starting on his essay the moment he sat down.

“My office,” Mazzara pointed across the hall, “is there. Any monkey business is ill-advised. Any questions?” He looked at every single one of them as if to tell them not to say a damn thing.

“Yeah, I got a question,” Ricky challenged.

Mr. Mazzara gave him a suspicious look. 

“Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?

His suspicions were confirmed. Two could play at this game.

“I’ll give you the answer to that question, Mr. Bowen, next Saturday. Don’t mess with the bulls, young man, you’ll get the horns.” With that, he left for his office, leaving eight teenagers on their own.

“God, that man speaks like he’s from a movie,” Ricky groaned. 

As everyone settled into their seats, aware that this was to be their life for the next eight hours, intense scribbling was heard from the back. Big Red turned back to look at Gina, watching her draw something on her essay paper. Her face was calm and relaxed, besides her teeth biting on her bottom lip. Ricky’s eyes widened slightly as he followed Red’s line of vision. 

Gina was aware of everyone looking at her. “What?” She spat out. 

Everyone spun around, except Ricky. “I’ve seen you before, you know…”

Gina went back to scribbling whatever it was she was working on before, forcing Ricky’s focus to shift. _That was going nowhere._ He looked at the ginger at the opposite table, playing with his pen and muttering to himself. 

“Who do I think I am? Who are _you?_ ” Red said quietly to himself, in different voices. Unaware of Bowen’s attention on him, Red attached the pen to his bottom lip, the cap placed under his top lip. “I am a walrus…” Red sang softly.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Ricky couldn’t help but ask out of utter confusion. 

Red dropped the pen from his mouth, smiling awkwardly at Ricky. Noticing the other boy’s scrunched eyebrows and confused expression, Red looked down at his paper. 

Ricky’s focus shifted again.

He began to take off his jacket, just as Red started to remove his. They made direct eye contact once again and out of something similar to fear or shock, Red put the jacket back on. Ricky took his all the way off.

He _almost_ wanted to laugh at how awkward the smaller boy was. _Nothing changed there._

Shift.

Crumpling his paper, Ricky squinted one eye to aim for his target: Nini Salazar-Roberts' head. He missed but noticed the slight acknowledgment from Nini and EJ while they both tried to ignore him.

He began to sing a part of a song he didn’t quite remember the title of, taking joy in Nini’s frustrated expression.

“I can’t believe this is really happening to me,” Nini glanced at the ceiling. 

“Shit!” Ricky exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention. “What’re we supposed to do if it gets too hot in here? Air’s turned off on weekends!”

“If you take your shirt off, Bowen, so help me…” Nini threatened.

Ricky had already begun to unbutton his shirt, catching the attention of everyone else in the room.

EJ looked at him in disgust. “Don’t take your fucking shirt off, dude!”

“What? You don’t want a nice show?” Ricky feigned innocence. "You never had any complaints-"

“You’re dead, Bowen!” EJ stood up with such force, his chair toppled over.

“You’re sexy when you get angry, Caswell!” Ricky exclaimed, aggravating the jock even more. He turned to Red. “Hey…”

Red pointed to himself with his pen, the occurrence of Ricky Bowen talking to him an event he never thought he’d live through again.

“... why don’t you close the door? We’ll give the homecoming queen a real show!” Ricky let out a cheer, laughing while no one else did. 

Nini glared at him, her eyes piercing. “Shut up! No one here is interested!”

Ricky pouted at Nini, putting a hand over his heart in mock hurt. “Really? Shame…” He threw his pen at EJ, hitting him square in the chest. “Sporto! What’d you do to get in here? Miss one of your speedo wearing conventions?”

Red looked around the room, everyone else focused on the scene being created by the three teenagers. “Uh, guys? I think we should just write our papers…” Red trailed off, realizing there was no point in trying. It was a miracle Mazzara hadn’t stepped in yet. 

“He’s right, guys…” Someone agreed softly.

Red spun around to see who the voice belonged to, the other redhead in the room smiling softly at him. He smiled back, grateful that someone noticed what he said. _Ashlyn Caswell._

EJ’s voice took over any distraction that could be created to ignore the debacle going on in the library, “Look, just because you practically live here doesn’t give you the right to be a pain in the ass!”

“Just stop it, EJ. You’re giving in to him,” Nini spoke up.

“Sweets,” Ricky grinned wickedly, “you couldn’t ignore me if you tried!”

Every effort from Ricky had been met with an eye roll and this time was no different. He looked back and forth between Nini and EJ, a knowing smile growing across his face. He put his head in his hands, batting his eyelashes. “So! Are you guys like boyfriend-girlfriend?”

Ricky’s grin was met with silence.

“Steady dates?”

Beat.

“Lovers?”

Beat.

“Guys, come on, level with me. Did you guys… you know… do the deed? At least let me know if you used protection?”

“Go to hell!” Nini screamed at him at the same time EJ yelled: “Shut up!”

The rest of those in the room seemed suspended in time. They _could_ say something, but the tension in the room was so high, they had no clue what a plausible reaction to what just happened was. Plus, they couldn’t believe the spectacle itself was actually happening.

“What’s going on in there?!” Mr. Mazzara yelled from his office.

The students became silent right away. Nini immediately picked up her pencil, EJ picking up his chair while giving Ricky a death stare. Ricky puckered his lips, causing the older boy to become more frustrated. _There was just something about getting on people’s nerves._

Ricky often did things like this before his brain could tell him to stop before it could even comprehend what he was doing. He didn’t know why he did it, or maybe he did. It’s not an easy thing to admit to yourself, the reason why you do certain things. And it’s easy to blame other people. Ricky shook his head, rubbing his eyes. His legs were on a chair beside him and for a moment, he thought to himself that the day may be harder to get through than he thought.

•••

“What do you say we close that door. Can’t have a party otherwise,” Ricky suggested, boredom taking over every inch of his brain as seconds passed by. He moved from his seat to jump on the library ramp’s railing, swinging his legs back and forth.

“Well, you know the door’s supposed to stay open,” Red disagreed.

“Yeah, we don’t need Mazzara coming in and giving us more detentions,” Kourtney said. A few faces looked at her like they hadn’t seen her in the library room. _Figures._

“So what?” Ricky shrugged. He didn’t understand why this kid was such a goody-goody. He didn’t use to be like this. _Live a little, dude._

“So why don’t you just shut up! There are other people in here you know,” Gina raised her voice. Now _everybody_ looked at her in shock.

EJ looked at the clock on the far right wall. “We have like eight hours left of detention. Just shut up so the other seven of us can get through this,” the jock sighed exasperatedly.

“God, you can count. I knew you had to be smart to be a… a… swimmer person.” Ricky mocked astonishment, causing a rise in EJ. Just what Ricky was aiming for.

“Who the hell are you to judge anybody anyway?”

“Really…” Nini muttered in agreement.

EJ stood up in front of Ricky’s table, towering over him. Ricky looked up at him with a sickeningly sweet smile. The younger of the two noticed that EJ’s eyes were unbelievably blue. _Yeah, the dude’s cute,_ he thought. _I get it._ But god forbid Ricky thought of anything past that. _Been there, done that. And it wasn’t fun._

“You know, Bowen… you don’t even count. I mean if you disappeared forever it wouldn’t make any difference.” EJ sat back down but his defiance persisted, “You might as well not even exist at this school.” 

Ricky smacked his lips and avoided eye contact with EJ and Nini. Nope, Ricky Bowen was _not_ going to be humiliated in detention of all places. At this point, everyone was looking at him with unintentional pity. Even they would admit, EJ went too far. Just like he always does.

The only senior in the room cleared his throat waiting for a response from the ‘rebel.’ 

When Ricky turned back to look at him, blocking out the image of Nini, a serious face had taken over his usual nonchalance. “Well, I’ll just run right out and join the water polo team!”

EJ and Nini broke out into laughter, even faint smiles could be seen on everyone else’s faces.

“Maybe the drama club too!” Ricky exclaimed.

“We’re okay, thanks,” Ashlyn said distractedly. She was jotting something down on her paper: lyrics. _The things detention do for songwriting block,_ Ashlyn continued writing out lyrics at lightning speed.

“Dance!”

“Not a chance,” Carlos declined, scooting closer his boyfriend, putting his head in the crook of Seb’s neck. 

“Fucking student council!” Ricky said exasperatedly.

“Like they would take you,” EJ scoffed.

“Ouchie, Eli,” Ricky pouted.

_Eli?_ Everyone made brief eye contact with each other, except with Ricky and EJ who were staring at each other, deciding what to say next.

Besides the point, the nickname only caused the older boy to get more heated. 

Nini rolled her eyes out of exasperation but wanted nothing more than this ‘fight’ to end. Any minute now, Mazzara could walk in and give them more detentions. More than one day with these people and Nini wouldn’t know what to do with herself. 

“You know why guys like you knock everything,” Nini turned to face Ricky, “It’s ‘cause you’re afraid.” Ricky grinned.

“Oh, God! You ritchies are so _smart,_ that’s _exactly_ why I’m not heavy in activities! Ricky exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

“You’re a big coward, Ricky Bowen,” Nini sneered.

To no one in particular, Red muttered to himself, “I’m in the AV club.”

So far, it seemed like the Ricky, Nini, and EJ show. And honestly, all this bickering was getting tiring to listen to and watch. But it’s not like any three of them would pay attention to anyone else in the room if someone were to speak up. 

Ashlyn had pages of lyrics written out by now. Red wondered where all the other sheets of paper come from. He shrugged to himself. Kourtney was doodling different outfit and makeup looks on her paper; it looked stunning. How no one had ever noticed her talent was astounding. Seb and Carlos seemed to be in their own world. When were they not?

_And I’m just here._

Seb and Carlos were in love, that was apparent to see. But it was more, it was a companionship of sorts. They were so enraptured with each other, but it didn’t make them forget about everything else going on around them; it just made them realize how lucky they were that the world let them find each other. They found people who gave them a chance; something that hadn't happened in a while.

“... you’re afraid that they won’t take you. You don’t belong so you have to dump all over it-” Nini could be heard speaking.

Ricky’s face took on an expression that said ‘ _Seriously?’_ “Well, it wouldn’t have to do with anything to do you activities people being assholes… now would it?”

Surprisingly, Carlos is the one that spoke up. “Well, you wouldn’t know, Bowen.”

“You don’t even know any of us,” Seb continued.

Ricky rolled his eyes, about to say something when he heard a soft voice mumbling on and on.

“I’m in the robotics club, too…” Red contributed. 

“Excuse me a sec, darling,” Ricky said to Nini, who bit her tongue before she would snap at him.

_God, he was so infuriating._

Ricky turned to Red. By now, the curly-haired boy was propped on the shorter bookshelves by the tables. “What are you babbling about?”

It took Red a moment to realize the question was directed towards him. “Oh, well, what I said was, I’m in the newspaper club and the AV club and the robotics club.”

Although he doubted any of them cared which clubs he was in, Red couldn’t help but feel a small bubble of happiness of Ricky just interacting with him. That hadn’t happened in years. Ever since they stopped talking, it felt like Red always remembered Ricky, but the latter didn’t do the same.

Ricky nodded at Red, a glint in his eyes, before turning to Nini. “Hey, princess. Do you belong to the robotics club?”

“That’s an academic club,” Nini said plainly.

“So?”

“Academic clubs aren’t the same as other kinds of clubs,” Nini said softly. It sounded terrible when she said it out loud, but it’s not like every other as school wasn’t thinking that, too.

“Oh, but to dorks like him,” Ricky pointed to Red, “they are.”

_Dork. Ouch._

Kourtney turned around to look at Red. “What do you guys do in your club?” She smiled at the redhead encouragingly.

“Well, in robotics. We build robots for competitions and talk about engineering stuff,” Red trailed off in the end.

Red propped his arm on his knee, bending forward. “So it’s sorta special: demented and sad, but social right?”

Red didn’t expect Ricky to know any of these things about him. They lost contact long before high school even started. They became strangers. To say the least, it felt _weird_ to be talking to each other casually.

“I guess you could consider it a social situation. At the end of the year, we have, um, you know, a big banquet at the Hilton,” Red looked down, fiddling with his fingers. “Oh! Uh, we don’t load up or-or get high.”

“Only burners like you get high,” Nini said to Ricky, who just smiled at her.

“What about you other boneheads?” Ricky yelled. “Any social gatherings in your clubs that aren’t actually clubs, according to Miss Louis Vuitton here!”

“Shut up, Bowen!” EJ whisper-yelled as if that would make things better. 

Red could still be heard muttering about how he didn’t have to dress up and had to borrow his dad’s shoes. And something about his cousin getting high and feeling like he didn’t belong anywhere. _Buzzkill._

“Look, you guys keep your talking and Mazzara’s gonna come right in here and we’ll all be done for,” Seb shushed.

“I have a swim meet this Saturday and I’m not gonna miss it because of you boneheads,” Ej agreed.

No one missed the same terminology used by Ricky and EJ. _Boneheads._ It wouldn’t be a big deal with any other two people, but these two… there had to be a checkered past between them. It made sense. 

The looks they kept giving each other. EJ’s quick defense for himself anytime Ricky said anything. EJ’s words clearly had a bigger effect on Ricky that anyone else’s, even Mazzara’s. In another life, maybe they could’ve been friends.

“Oh, wouldn’t that be unfortunate,” Ricky mocked, letting out a moan of fake agony.

EJ looked at Ricky. His eyes already said so much more than his words were about to. “You wouldn’t understand, you don’t have any goals.”

Ricky pretended to be wounded. “But I do! I want to be just like you! All I need is a speedo!”

Everyone’s heads perked up at that comment except for Ashlyn, who was just bemused at this point. She knew how her cousin could be and teased his relentlessly at home for wearing a speedo.

“You wear a speedo?” Kourtney chuckled in disbelief.

“I wear the required uniform!” EJ defended.

“So a speedo,” Red reiterated. As if the star athlete wasn’t embarrassed enough.

_This is stupid. Win all the trophies this goddamn school has and yet, a small comment makes from Ricky, of all people, makes me want to disappear._ “Shut up!”

EJ turned around to face the front of the room so he wouldn’t have to look at anyone else, but also due to him hearing Mazzara walking around the hall. His face was telling enough that everyone else caught on. 

Ricky jumped back onto the ground, sitting in his chair. He folded his hands on the table and spun his pen around on his finger.

Mazzara rushed into the library, the veins on his neck popping out. Man, he got angry quickly. “Why is that door closed?”

No response.

Mazzara slammed one hand on the table where Nini and EJ were. “Huh?!”

“We don’t know, sir. We aren’t supposed to move,” Ricky feigned innocence.

Nini mouthed ‘shut up’ to Ricky before looking back at their teacher. “We were just sitting here like we were supposed to.”

“Who?” Mazzara pressured.

Ricky fiddled with his the straps on his gloves. “I think a screw fell out of it, sir.”

Mr. Mazzara walked to the back tables where Ashlyn and Gina were. Ashlyn continued scribbling furiously on her paper while Gina stared directly as Mazzara. 

Gina Porter was shrouded in mystery. No one really knew anything about her, no one bothered to get close to her. She put in no effort to do so either. She was either extremely quiet or honestly, a bit scary. People just usually let her be.

Mazzara raised his eyebrows, deciding there was no use. “Give me that screw, Bowen.”

Ricky kept his head down, but his voice was softer than usual. “I don’t have it, sir. Screws fall out all the time,” he looked up, “the world’s an imperfect place.” Cue Ricky Bowen’s signature puppy dog eyes.

“Sir, why would anyone want to steal a screw?” Nini asked.

Mazzara never looked angrier, “Watch it, young lady.” _These kids, I swear. Just plotting away._

When Nini looked back at Ricky she was met with widened eyes. He was surprised, to say the least. Nini scowled at him and turned around, slouching in her seat. 

_Why did I do that?_

_Why did she do that?_

Nini didn’t know why she saved Ricky from what probably would’ve been another detention, but she was kind of glad she did. 

Everyone turned their heads when they heard clanging. Mr. Mazzara was moving a small metal chair between the doors, hoping to prop it open. For someone who loved engineering and physics, you would think he’d know it wasn’t going to work.

“Sir, the door’s way too heavy,” Ricky reasoned.

Mazzara, in all his stubbornness, refused to listen. But as expected, the chair was trampled out of the way once the door slammed shut, separating the eight teenagers from their very, very, _very,_ mean teacher. A loud ‘Damn it!’ could be heard from outside the library.

Soft chuckles could be heard across the room. If something was going to unite them for eight hours, it was going to be surviving against Mr. Mazzara. Smiles, for the first time of the day, were shared.

Sadly, the man of the hour walked back in with a goal in mind. “EJ Caswell! Over here, front and center!” EJ reluctantly got up to help Mr. Mazzara move a magazine stand to be used as a doorstop. 

Bowen gestured to the two, protesting, “Why does he get to stand up? If he gets up, we all get up! And it’ll be anarchy!” At that moment, EJ fell over the magazine stand, multiple issues falling to the floor.

How graceful.

The door held open, and for a moment, _just for a moment,_ Mazzara was triumphant until Ricky decided to destroy his accomplishment. 

“That’s very clever, sir. But what if there’s a fire,” Ricky played with one of his curls, bringing it down to see how long it was. Yes, boredom was in full force. As much as he loved getting on Mazzara’s nerves, there was only so much you can do in one day. “I think violating fire codes and endangering the lives of children but would be unwise at this junction of your career.”

“What are you doing? Get this thing out of here,” Mazzara told EJ. 

Of course, the adult would blame the child for their mistakes.

EJ was pushed back into his seat as if Mazzara was his dad. “I expected more from a varsity letterman.” _Just like my dad._ EJ wanted to scoff but held any remarks back, learning from any interaction between the two.

Ricky looked at EJ with a mix of worry and pity. No one noticed, but EJ could feel Ricky’s eyes drilled into the back of his head.

“The next screw that falls out, Bowen, is gonna be you,” Mazzara pointed his finger at Ricky. _How threatening._ Ricky's eyes left EJ and glared at the teacher at the front of the room.

Ricky responded the best way he knew how: by muttering something under his breath, which was sure to make Mazzara more pissed than he already was. “What did you say?”

The man strode towards his least favorite student, expecting to instill some type of fear in him. 

“I _said,_ ” Ricky sat up, “Eat. My. Shorts.”

“You’ve just earned yourself another detention,” Mazzara spat.

Ricky put his arm on the back of the chair. There was no way he was going to let _this_ guy get the best of him. “I don’t know sir, I’m gonna have to check my calendar.”

“Well, it’s going to be filled!” Mazzara yelled. “You want another one, we’ll keep going. Instead of going to jail, you’ll be coming here!”

Ricky looked away, biting his lip. _Fuck. Maybe I should stop. It’s enough being here more often than I should be._ He crossed his arms. 

“Are you through?”

_Nope._

“No,” Ricky said obviously. 

“That’s another one! I’m doing society a favor!”

“So?” Ricky fidgeted in his seat. 

“You want another one?”

“Yes,” Ricky drew out. _Shut up, Ricky. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up._

“You got it!” Mazzara towered over Ricky. “I’ve got you for the rest of your natural-born life!”

Nini couldn’t continue watching this. _What is he doing?_

“Cut it out!” Ricky’s eyes shifted to meet hers. _Stop,_ she mouthed. 

Nini may not have liked the guy, but it was clear to anyone in the room that Mazzara was targeting Ricky. It’s like the both had this personal vendetta against each other. And yeah, it was normal for a student to hate an administrator, it was just the natural order of things. But for an adult to be so hostile to a student makes you think of how half these people even got employed.

Ricky's eyes flickered, something different than his usual snarkiness. Gratefulness? Relief? Surprise?

“Are you through?” Mr. Mazzara questioned.

“Not. Even. Close. _Bud._ ” Ricky sneered, sitting up straighter.

“Another one right there!”

“You really think I give a shit?” Bowen asked. _I do. I really do._

“I got you for the next month, Bowen.”

“What can I say, I’m _thrilled.”_

“I’m sure that’s what you want everyone here to think. You know something, Bowen? You spend more time doing something with yourself and a little less time trying to impress people. You might be better off.” And with that, it’s like Mazzara won.

“That’s it. I’m going to be right outside those doors. The next time I have to come in here, I’m cracking skulls,” Mr. Mazzara warned.

Ricky mouthed along to what he said, rolling his eyes in the process. As Mazzara walked out, everyone stared at the doors in silence.

“Fuck you!” Ricky yelled out one last time.

It took everything for Mazzara to return back to his office.

And took more than everything for the teenagers not to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some things to know:
> 
> \- red and ricky used to be friends but lost contact before high school started and are practically strangers
> 
> \- ej and ricky also have a past
> 
> \- ricky does what he does best: runs away from a situation && so he acts like red and ej strangers
> 
> \- ricky's parents still divorced and his dad cares but is never home and lynn still has no rights whatsoever
> 
> \- most of them have seen the others around the school but harbor their own thoughts regarding one another (will be addressed in future chapters)


	3. building bridges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the clock starts moving, eight hours turns to seven, then to six. Some moments are shared and eight teenagers begin to realize there are some things they're missing in life. 
> 
> Cue moving from strangers to friends(?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s kinda a lot of time jumps in this chapter, but it’s to help move the story along! this chapter starts showing them becoming closer n stuffs :)
> 
> without further ado, enjoy!

“Wake up!” Mazzara screams, startling the kids awake. “Who has to go to the bathroom?”

Everybody’s hands shot up into the air. 

•••

Those few minutes Mazzara allowed them out of the library felt like heaven. But quickly enough, they were shoved back into their temporary prison, left with their own thoughts and wishes of being elsewhere.

It was 8:45, which left about seven hours of detention left. One hour down. It was a massive improvement from eight hours, but nonetheless, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the teenagers to find ways to occupy themselves.

Ricky was playing with a lighter, lighting a cigarette using a small fire he made on his shoe. Earlier, Ricky had taken out a screw from the door, just in case Mazzara wanted to check out their white lie. He rolled said screw around in his hand.

Nini was daydreaming about god knows what.

EJ was fiddling with a button on his letterman jacket.

Big Red was sleeping on the side of his head, a small trickle of drool seen on the corner of his mouth. 

Gina was pulling a string around her finger, watching it slowly turn purple.

Ashlyn was quietly humming, tapping on the table with her pen. 

Kourtney was touching up her makeup and using eyeshadow to add color to her designs.

Carlos was tapping his feet to a rhythm, assumably something from the fall musical he was choreographing.

Seb was intently listening to whatever is was that Ashlyn was humming, resisting the urge to ask her to actually sing. 

The only thing filling the silence was the sound of the clock ticking. 

•••

_ 10:22 am _

Six hours left.

Ricky found himself back on the shelf, tearing pages from a novel and throwing them into the air, only for them to glide towards the floor. 

“Real intelligent, Bowen,” EJ scoffed.

“I’m so sorry, Eli. You’re right, it’s wrong to destroy literature,” Ricky said sarcastically while continuing to rip pages out. “It’s such fun to read!”

_ Eli. Eli. Eli. _

One of the biggest questions anyone had was what the issue was between EJ and Ricky. They clearly had a history and things  _ clearly  _ didn’t end well between them. But Ricky knew exactly what he was doing by calling the boy by an old nickname.

Ricky flipped the cover over, reading the author. “And Molet really gets me going!”

“Mol-yare,” Nini and Red corrected at the same time. The two shared a quick smile that as soon as it happened, it was gone. The princess couldn’t be friends with a loser.  _ What would the people here think? _

News flash: no one would care.

“I love his work,” Red said to Nini, who ignored him.

Red’s smile left his face, what was he thinking? No way in the world would he ever have a functional conversation with anyone here. 

EJ cleared his throat, lowering his voice and slightly leaning towards Nini, “Hey, you grounded tonight?”

“I don’t know. Mama D said I was, but Mama C told me to just blow her off,” Nini shrugged.

“You have two moms?” Carlos asked with surprise. He sat up a little straighter in his seat. 

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal. I mean, love is love and all that, right?” Nini said with a nervous smile on her face. The fact that she had two moms was never really something Nini mentioned in casual conversation, but it just slipped out. 

Not like anyone here could do something anyway.

EJ had a genuine smile on his face, he could never understand how someone could hate another person for liking the same gender, or multiple. “Neens, party at Rico’s, can you go?”

Nini frowned, “I doubt it.”

“Why not?”

“‘’Cause if I do what my mom tells me not to do, it’s because my other mom says it’s okay. There’s like this whole big monster deal, it’s endless and a total drag,” Nini sighed. “It’s like any minute, divorce.”

Ricky perked up at the last word.  _ Divorce. _

He thought back to the times when his mom would be yelling at his dad downstairs while he was in his room, music blasting full volume to try and block out the noise. But it just made everything louder. 

The failed therapy.

His mom trying to get him to move to Chicago.

His dad slowly falling into the deep end: the beer bottles scattered everywhere around the house.

God, the custody battles. Spending weekends in Chicago with his mom and  _ Todd. _

He sometimes missed all the noise in his house. Now it was just filled with silence. 

No one noticed Ricky perk up. Except for Red, of course. 

Because Red was always there. Hugging him while he cried at night, sneaking into Ricky’s bedroom through the window with snacks and DVDs. Ricky missed that. 

_ Too bad I fucked everything up. _

Ricky tried to sneak a glance at the redhead, only to be met with big brown eyes that he wished he saw more often. The expression on Red’s face said more than words could.  _ Are you okay? I know we’re not friends, but I’m here.  _

And all Ricky’s face said was  _ I wish we were still friends. _

The two boys could still read each other with such ease, no effort was really involved. And just as quickly as Ricky’s walls broke down, they were built back up. With every vulnerable moment, Ricky had to make up for it by being a dick to people who didn’t deserve it. Or to people who deserved it  _ a little.  _

Ricky nodded his head at Nini, “Who do you like better?”

“What?” Nini asked, shocked at the question.

“Which of your moms do you like better?”

“They’re both strict.”

“No, no. If you had to choose between them, Roberts,” Ricky clarified.

“I don’t know. I’d probably go live with my friend Steph. I mean, I don’t think either of them gives a shit about me,” Nini paused, looking away. “It’s like they use me just to get back at each other.”

Ricky looked at Nini in a way that made her feel understood. Because he understood.

_ Guess there is something under the rebel facade. _

“Ha!” Gina exclaimed. “You’re just feeling sorry for yourself.”

“Well if I didn’t, nobody would,” Nini shot back.

“How heartbreaking,” EJ said.

“Well, sporto,” Ricky jumped down and went next to EJ. “You get along with your parents?”

Ricky knew damn well he didn’t.

“If I say yes, I’m an idiot, right?” 

Ricky shook EJ roughly, only for his hands to be shoved off. “You’re an idiot anyway, but if you say you get along with your parents, you’d be a liar, too!”

EJ stood up inhumanly fast, shoving Ricky to the floor, who flicked his middle finger at the athlete.

Red and Kourtney shot up, trying to hold both of the boys back. 

“Y’all quit it!” Kourtney said desperately. 

Red started babbling, trying to diffuse the situation. “I don’t like my parents either. I don’t get along with them, you know, their idea of parental compassion is just… wack!”

Ricky hesitated for a moment. 

When they were younger, Red’s parents were nothing but supportive. It was surprising, to say the least, to hear something otherwise.

“You’re a parent’s wet dream, okay?” Ricky said, pushing past the shorter boy.

Red rolled his eyes, “Are you just incapable of being a decent person? It’s a problem!”

Ricky turned back, amused. “Look, I can see you getting all bunged up for them making you wear these kinda clothes, but face it: you’re a neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie! What would you do if you weren’t making yourself a better citizen?”

Red took a step closer to Ricky, a hard look on his face which surprised just about everyone in the room. Red lowered his voice so it could only be heard by Ricky, “My parents are a lot different than you remember. And you’re a completely different person than  _ I  _ remember. Not in a good way, ‘Ky.” 

Red walked back to his seat, slouching forward. Ricky’s face was like a deer caught in the headlights. He kept looking at Red, hoping that he would look at him. But he didn’t.

“Why do you have to insult everybody?” EJ asked.

Ricky was snapped out of his trance, immediately putting on the mask he always wore. The one he wore so often that the “old” Ricky was hard to bring back out. 

“I’m just being honest, asshole! I would expect you to know the difference.”

Behind Ricky, Red scoffed. The worst part was, Red knew why Ricky was acting this way. He couldn’t find it in him to be mad forever. 

Ricky always had a hard time opening up to other people, this issue increasing when his parents were going through the divorce. All the people he loved seemed to leave him and Ricky left before Red could. But he never would’ve left Ricky. It’s a shame, everything that went down. 

Ricky faltered when he heard Red scoff. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” EJ looked at Red, “What’s your name?”

“Uh, Big Red.”

“What’re we doing? Introductions?” Ricky asked. 

“I’m Nini,” she smiled at everyone around the room, making Ricky roll his eyes.

“The virgin princess, herself!” Ricky gestured at Nini. “Pristine, popular. The priestess of East High.”

Everyone went back to what they were previously doing, getting used to Ricky Bowen’s infamous dramatic sequences. They did provide amazing entertainment when you weren’t the one involved, though.

“I’m not that pristine!” Nini argued.

Ricky moved in front of Nini, leaning over the table. “Are you a virgin?” 

Nini just stared at him.

“I’d bet you a million dollars that you are!” Ricky laughed. “What’s it gonna be? A white wedding?” Ricky leaned closer to Nini, whose eyes were faint with tears.

Was Ricky going to push too far? 

_ Of course. _

Nini scooted back, “Why don’t you just shut up?”

Ricky smirked, “You ever even kiss a boy? Been felt up?”

Ricky slowly walked around her, everyone’s eyes following his movements.

“Been making out, someone’s lips on your neck. You’re in your room, hoping to God your parents don’t walk in?”

Ricky felt someone tap his shoulder.

Gina Porter.

“Leave her alone,” she demanded.

“You gonna make me?”

Gina took a step closer until he could feel her breath on his skin. “Damn straight.”

Nini was watching Gina with curiosity and shock. This girl who she’d never even spoken to, was defending her. Gina was someone her friends would laugh at. But here she was. 

“Just stop, guys,” Ashlyn said monotonously. She could care less, but all this fighting was starting to get annoying. She just wanted to write music in peace.

The janitor walked into the library, “Brian, how you doing?”

“Your dad works here?” Ricky asked. Of course, he knew Red’s dad worked here. 

A look flickered across Carl’s face. Disappointed. 

Everyone slowly shifted back into their seats.

“Carl?” Ricky asked. “Can I ask you a question?”

Carl hadn’t seen Ricky around for a while, unaware of how much he had changed. Sure, he would see Ricky around the halls, but there didn’t seem to be a sliver of the “old” Ricky on the surface. Ricky and Red’s friendship had ended years ago, but he still didn’t know what happened. “Sure.”

“How does one become a janitor?” 

“You wanna be one?”

“No, I just wanna know because EJ here, is very interested in pursuing a career in the custodial arts…”

Carl looked at his son, saddened about how his ex-best friend was acting. “You think I’m some untouchable peasant? I’ve been following a broom after shitheads like you for the past couple years and I’ve learned a couple of things.”

Carl couldn’t wrap his head around the new Ricky Bowen. This was the same kid who would skate with Red, help wash the dishes at dinner; the same kid who would help clean up Red’s skating injuries in the bathroom late at night. The same kid who spent nights in the basement with Red when his parents’ fighting got too much to handle.

“The clock’s twenty minutes ahead, by the way,” Carl reminded the teenagers. 

He looked at Red before he left the library, his son’s face conflicted.

•••

_ 11:30 am _

Mazzara stood up from his desk and left his classroom.

In the library, Ricky began whistling the tune to  _ Born to Be Brave, _ everyone else joining in. As Mazzara entered, everyone fell silent, except for Ricky, who began whistling Beethoven’s 5th. 

“Okay, kids. Thirty minutes for lunch,” the teacher announced.

“Here?” Carlos asked. 

“Here.” 

“I think the cafeteria would be a more suitable place for us to eat, sir,” Seb reasoned. 

“Well, I don’t care what you think,” Mazzara raised his voice.

Ricky sat up in his chair, “Will milk be made available to us?”

EJ followed suit, leaning his head on one arm, “We’re extremely thirsty, sir.”

Nini smiled sweetly, “And I have a very low tolerance for dehydration.”

Ricky had a small smile on his face. This was  _ some  _ form of solidarity. The one thing they all had in common was their distaste for Benjamin Mazzara.

EJ continued, “It’s pretty gross when she gets dehydrated, sir.”

Ricky stood up, “Relax! I’ll get it!”

Mazzara moved to Ricky, pushing him back down into his seat. “I don’t think so.”

He pointed to EJ and Gina quickly. “You two! C’mon, there’s a soft drink machine in the teacher’s lounge.”

Mazzara left the library in a huff, leaving the two selected students alone in the hallway. They started walking to the teacher’s lounge, silence prolonging the space between them.

“So, what’s your poison?” EJ asked, tired of the awkwardness.

Gina didn’t answer, shoving her hands into her pockets. 

“Sorry, forget I asked.”

Gina glanced at the boy walking in front of her. “Vodka.”

EJ looked back at her in surprised amusement, “Is that why you’re here?”

No answer.

EJ stopped walking to face Gina. “Why  _ are  _ you here?”

“Why are  _ you _ here?” Gina snapped back. 

EJ leaned against the wall, fidgeting back and forth. “Uh, well. My dad and coach didn’t want me to blow my ride. I get treated differently because apparently, Coach thinks I’m a  _ winner.” _

Gina stepped closer to EJ. “Yeah? Very interesting. Now, why don’t you tell me why you’re really here.”

EJ moved away from Gina. “Forget it!”

Gina followed EJ, who was walking faster now, to the teacher’s lounge. 

_ I’m gonna find out why he’s here. _

_ I’m gonna find out why she’s here. _

•••

While EJ and Gina were off getting the drinks, everyone sat around waiting. They had strayed from their assigned seats, sitting together in the area with couches. 

“Nini, you wanna see a picture of a guy with elephantitis of the nuts? It’s pretty tasty,” Ricky offered gleefully.

Everyone made a face of disgust.

“No thank you,” Nini declined, turning away to talk to Seb and Carlos. “I wish I was on a plane to France, right now.”

“Honey, don’t we all,” Carlos sadly chuckled. 

Seb snuggled Carlos tighter, the smaller boy sighing into the touch.

Nini wishes she had something like that. Life would be easier having a  _ person.  _ Around the room, soft smiles spread.

She caught Ricky’s eyes. He was clearly thinking about something, it was clear it was bothering him. Nini couldn’t help but wonder what that thing was. It always seemed like Ricky was thinking about something. Maybe those  _ somethings  _ were the reason he acted the way he did. 

Ricky intrigued Nini. Sure, he got on her nerves and made her more frustrated than she had ever been, but at the same time, she felt a pang of strange guilt. Like maybe if she had talked to anyone in the room before detention, they could’ve been friends.

A couple of feet away, Ashlyn and Kourtney were sitting in an aisle nearby, laughing about something. 

Ricky and Red were going back and forth about something when Nini saw Red point at her. 

“Drop it! We’ll talk about it later!” Red shushed.

Nini whipped her head around to look at the two boys. “Drop what, what’re you talking about?”

“Red’s telling me that in addition to the girls in the Salt Lake area, he and you are riding the hobby horse!” Ricky clapped.

Nini glared at Red, “Little pig!”

“I’m not! I’m not!” Red looked at Ricky. “I just didn’t want her to know I was a virgin, okay?”

Nini’s upset face diffused immediately and she chuckled. “Why didn’t you want me to know? I think it’s okay for a guy to be a virgin.”

“Really?” Red asked.

Nini nodded immediately. “Half the guys at school lie about this stuff anyway. It's okay,” she leaned forward as if she were spilling a secret.

“Even if they,” Red looked down, “may like boys, too?” His voice got quieter at the end. “Sorry for pointing at you earlier, by the way.”

Nini looked at him, surprised. But her face was reassuring.Carlos and Seb stared at Red proudly, as did Ashlyn and Kourtney.

_ Why did Red just come out to strangers?  _ Everyone thought.

But Red knew it was time. The coming out part didn’t seem as big in comparison to finally accepting who he was. It didn’t matter to him who he came out to first. It was somehow easier talking to strangers who barely knew him. This way, he wouldn’t have to face the consequences of interacting with them every day. And somehow in his heart, he also knew they wouldn’t tell anyone. He didn’t think his parents would be the most supportive, that somehow the fact that was  _ gay  _ would get in the way of him being a perfect child. 

_ It was time _ . And hey, everyone knew each other’s names now which was a huge step from before.

From the corner of his eye, Red could see Ricky’s eyes widen. He chose to ignore it and raised his eyes to meet Nini’s, who placed a hand on his shoulder. “Even then. And it’s okay. Apology accepted, Red.”

The redhead looked at the brunette gratefully. Nini wasn’t as bad as everyone painted her to be. Sure, privileged and spoiled, but she had a kind heart deep inside. It was covered with layers of Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors and wrapped nice and neat with a blue ribbon from Tiffany’s, but when her true kindness came out, it made Nini more beautiful than she was before. This Nini's exterior was so calm and reassuring. She made everyone feel safe.

If things were different, Red hoped they would make good friends.

When he looked around, Red saw Seb, Carlos, Ashlyn, and Kourtney staring at him. But not with disgust; it was anything but.

Ricky glanced at Nini with a newfound respect. Yes, it was normal human decency to be accepting of someone, but Nini wasn’t the person everyone thought her to be. 

_It was strange._ Despite not knowing anyone here, for the first time of the day, everyone silently agreed that being uncivil with each other created a lot of nonexistent problems. Maybe more moments like this could be shared. And no one would mind that.

The moment was interrupted by the library doors banging open and shutting close. “Drinks!” EJ shouted.

Everyone returned back to their seats, still relishing in the relaxing peace. It was nice.

Nini’s hand lingered on Red’s shoulder for just over a second, squeezing it reassuringly before she walked back to her table. And this was when Nini realized,  _ the ‘princess’ wouldn’t mind being friends with the ‘loser.’  _ Red was real, unlike all her friends in school. 

Ricky played with one of the rings on his finger, unsure of what to say. 

“Red,” Ricky said softly. “I’m-”

“Every parent’s wet dream, right?” Red cut him off, leaving Ricky before he could say anything back.  _ Yeah, I deserved that.  _

Ricky followed Red back to where everyone else was, keeping his distance.  _ God, I’m so stupid.  _

EJ and Gina were handing everyone Cokes, and very shortly after, everyone had gotten their lunches. 

The seating had changed slightly. Ashlyn and Kourtney were sitting at the same table in the back now. It seems like the little time everyone had to get to know each other a little better worked for the two girls. 

It turns out, Kourtney had heard Ashlyn humming earlier and was intrigued. 

It was astounding how amazing Ashlyn’s songs were. And Ashlyn was equally astounded by Kourtney’s costume designs and makeup looks. It was nice to be able to talk to someone in the room. 

Even better, the two knew what it felt like to never be noticed by anyone. To silently pass through the day blending in. Ashlyn was 'Ej's cousin' and Kourtney was just the costume designer for the drama department and some senior took the credit for all her work. Now, blending in wasn’t a bad thing, but it was nice to be noticed every once in a while.

The energy in the library has shifted, too. But in a good way. The atmosphere was more relaxed, a cloud of understanding over their heads after an important moment was shared. EJ and Gina had quickly found out what had happened, Red telling them himself and saying if they had a problem with it, they could kindly “get [your] kneecaps eaten.” Neither of them had a problem with it.

Nini began taking out her lunch from a small shopping bag, a distinct difference from the plain brown paper bags every  _ normal  _ person would have.

“What’s in there?” Ricky leaned forward with curiosity.

“Take a guess,” Nini said while setting up a sushi platter. 

Ricky threw a Coke to Gina, who caught it without looking. Gina intrigued Ricky more with every passing minute.  _ What was her deal?  _

Word spread around East High like wildfire, and almost everyone knew about Gina Porter. Just the fact that she was a transfer student, an “outcast” because she never talked to anyone, and that she was probably always reserving the dance room to get high. Ricky shrugged. He’d see if he could get a rise out of her later.

Very quickly, he was drawn to whatever Nini was doing. She was setting up a very disgusting looking lunch. “What’s that?”

“Sushi.”

“The fuck’s sushi?”

Nini chuckled. “Rice, raw fish, seaweed.”

“So you won’t accept a guy's tongue in your mouth but you’re gonna at that?” Ricky made a face.

“Can I eat or not?” 

“Go for it, princess,” Ricky bowed.

Ricky left Nini and sauntered over to Carlos and Seb. “What’re we having?”

“Just your standard regular lunch, Bowen.” Seb sighed.

Ricky pulled out a thermos from a brown bag, setting it on the table.”Milk?”

“Soup,” the two boys answered simultaneously.

“Well, what a nutritious meal, boys,” Ricky smirked.

Just as he walked away, Carlos and Seb looked at each other knowingly.

“You want some?” Carlos called out.

“We have plenty extra, my mom packed more than enough,” Seb agreed. “Sandwiches, some cookies…”

Ricky turned back to face them. “I’m good, thanks.”

Carlos gestured to an empty chair. “Come on, pull up a chair.”

And so Ricky did.  _ What did he have to lose? _

Carlos and Seb smiled softly at each other, watching Ricky turn around to grab the chair. At the end of the day, Ricky wasn’t bad. 

In half an hour, Ricky learned that Carlos and Seb had met on one of the school’s musicals. Carlos helped Seb practice the choreography and it just happened. Carlos was a major Broadway fanatic and once, when his family went to New York, he fainted when he met the cast of  _ Cats  _ at the stage door. Seb, on the other hand, lived on a farm and had a huge family. No one else was into theater like him, but on opening night, they reserved three rows to support him. Seb sang a small part of a song softly, and Ricky thought he had one of the best voices he’d heard.

In half an hour, Seb and Carlos learned that Ricky played guitar and he had a journal of original songs that he wrote, but would never in a million years share. That Ricky had like five broken skateboards and got caught sneaking into an abandoned building to skate on the roof. That when he was in Chicago, he purposely flooded his mom’s boyfriend bathroom so he'd get sent back to Salt Lake. And when they brought up auditioning for the fall musical, Ricky immediately declined but a small glint could be seen in his eyes that said he'd consider it.

Ricky understood why Red came out to these people. It was so easy to be vulnerable around them. And if he was being honest, Ricky could use a friend or two. 

Ricky Bowen was reckless, yes, and he put himself in some bad, not ideal situations, yes, but it was easy to see Ricky needed somebody, just as everyone in the room did. 

And maybe everyone was starting to see the people they may have always needed were right in this very room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love ricky, carlos, and seb friendship. i feel like they'd become so close so quickly and season 2 needs to come thruuuu. also ej and gina are not gonna be together, they're both GAY! but peep ash and kourt ;)
> 
> this chapter strayed a lil bit from how tbc goes but i hope it was okay 🥺

**Author's Note:**

> i don’t know how to write engagingly so this is all i can give im sorry


End file.
